How to pass with all A’s

Salam Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

Smilla he will hamdu lillah wa Salatu was Salam ala Rasulillah, who Allah, Allah, he was happy at mine. My brothers and sisters, I want to start off by saying that Allah Almighty knows you personally.

Allah Almighty knows you personally. He knows everything about you, he knows about you more than you know about yourself. You must be wondering, well, why does he make me struggle? That's a question right? As I stood there, greeting one by one, those who entered this room today, many took a moment to perhaps drop in a word or two.

And some had actually spoken about some of the struggles that they were going through.

And rightly so. This is a motivational evening.

I pray that by the time

we leave this place, we are motivated to be better people and to face the challenges that are thrown in our direction, in a way that we achieve blessings and positivity from them, rather than negativity. Because if you're saying why, if Allah knows me personally, does he make me go through struggles? The simple answer is,

he has chosen that as a way for all the creatures from the beginning to the end.

While they're

on earth for a short period of time, this is a place the Earth is a place where you would actually be for a short period of time and then you're going everyone who's come here from our species has lived for a few decades and left on average.

So Allah knows you personally. He knows your struggles, He knows your the goodness that he has bestowed upon you. And he promises that the good is more than the challenge.

He promises that the good you have the blessings you have outweigh the tests in your direction. You might argue, oh, how how? Good question. Let me explain how have you taken a look at your problems? Yeah, they are overwhelming. How many other? Can you count them? For me? If I were to ask you, Brother, what are your challenges? Sister? What are your challenges? You might tell me? I lost my job. Diagnosed with a sickness. I have lost a parent or two. I have been through two divorces. I have

perhaps maybe my business burnt down.

And I lost a limb.

My brother you counted six things, six things. Count your blessings.

Allah promises you while I'm not belittling the magnitude of these six, they are big things right? May Allah make it easy for you. But the blessings you have are billions 136,000 heartbeats a day mashallah you're breathing your nose, your eyes for free, mashallah your ears you can hear you can see Subhan Allah or even if Allah has taken away one or two of those faculties, so much more, you have things around you, you are here today, either you're watching me or you are seated in front of me. But that's a blessing of Allah for both of us.

So don't despair. Man is so weak that because of the six to nine to 12 challenges that he or she is facing, he tends to forget that the Almighty has bestowed upon him 120,000 favours or more were in the dunya Mata Allah healer too soon. If you're going to try and count the favors of the Almighty upon you, you will never be able to count them all. But if you want to count the challenges, the tests the negativities you can count them.

There we are. So he knows you personally. And just like when you enter a college or a school, you cannot just go in learn things and come out they must test you.

They must test you. In order to verify whether you've actually learned or not, you're going to come out mashallah one of the brothers mechanical engineer may Allah bless him and his family and all of us. When you are studying, they will test you and as you progress, do the tests become easier, or more difficult? Tell me

more difficult right, brother Akasha Lovely to see you this evening.

So my brothers and sisters to be honest.

In the same way Allah will test you and as you pass and graduate, will the test become easier or more difficult? Tell me, would you not like to graduate into paradise? Are you not a believer? Do you not believe in the hereafter? Do you not believe there is a day you're going to go back to Allah, you do not believe in accountability and the records and so on. You have to because you're a believer, and if you do, then don't worry, Allah will allow you graduation into the Hereafter with flying colors, that examination you will clock by the will of Allah.

I had another sister this evening say, Make dua for me I have exams you clock them in sha Allah my sister, but at the same time you will have other exams that Allah tests you with in your life and in mind and in all of our lives. May Allah make it easy for us and the excitement there is that we witness every time there is a graduation from a college of the of the students who have graduated now coming up one by one excited about what they have achieved. They have a special dress code, don't they? They come up and they're excited their family is there to watch in a similar fashion on the day of piano the day when we receive the results of the real tests and challenges that Allah put

in our lives and we aced them. Allah says I'm wu chi Akita but who will be a meanie via

evakool via co lo ha Omokoroa. Okita be

the one who receives his or her book

in the right hand will be super excited. Whenever I witness excitement of people who graduate and they come up and they smile and some of them do a little dance there I'm not speaking about right or wrong. Whatever they do, it's the excitement right? On that day you're allowed the day of piano when you get your book in your right hand because you face the challenges they were difficult they almost cracked your back they almost suffocated you but the Almighty was always there to ensure you carried on and that's why you are where you are today. Mashallah, you've been through a lot. You've been through more difficult days. Yes, these days are difficult. They're not so easy but Allah will keep

carrying you adjust. Connect with Allah, keep adjusting.

Make the most of whatever you have. Look at the positives go out to help others. On that day when you get your result you have the right to be proud. A person will say

checkmated results look at this, I've got I aced it Mashallah. Imagine getting the AU level certificate which won't help you in your grave, by the way, but

I aced it. 13 A stars Wow. I've got an offer letter from so many different universities, masha Allah, we are proud of you. But we want you to be proud of yourself on the day of judgment.

And how do you achieve it? It's not so difficult look, you believe in your maker, you know, you're going to go back to your maker, and whatever challenges have come in your direction, you try your best to let the connection you have with your maker help you through it. Look,

I'll give you one quick example. You know, difficulty and hardship we go through.

If you meet someone who has no faith, no faith at all, they might tell you Yeah, well, it's one of those things, it's life. That's life, life is tough. We will say we are going through exactly the change the same challenge as you. But we are smiling because we know we are hoping for something good in the hereafter.

So he might say, well, what if there is no hereafter? And what if there is nothing? Well, I want to tell you, I do believe there is but if you don't believe there is I can tell you at least my smiles made it easier for me while I was on earth, whereas you were totally depressed.

So there was a bonus already immediate. That's why belief in the almighty actually improves the quality of your life.

It helps you look at challenges from a totally different light. Yes, one might argue if they don't believe that, you know what, that's nonsense. But for me as a believer, I'm convinced it is not. I'm too sophisticated of a creature to just fizzle into thin air at the point of my death. I believe that it has to continue beyond that. Just like how when I was in the womb of my mother, one would have perhaps thought that's the end of everything when they were about to be born into a world that was totally mind boggling and absolutely unexplainable just moments before they saw it same applies to the next life.

Exactly the same applies from the

womb to this world? What was it a massive change? Do you even remember it?

Do you even remember it? Do you know the struggles you had in the womb of your mum? Not one of us? I don't know that. Were there any struggles there? By the way? Did we even have the sense to remember, in actual fact, there are things that we have had the sense to remember that we've forgotten because our lives are such, the Almighty creates days in a way that a goodness that comes after something that was really challenging makes you forget the magnitude of that bad in a lot of cases. Not in all cases, I remember when my wife gave birth for the first time. And we said that, you know, subhanAllah people say that as soon as the baby's on you, and now you know, crying and you forget

all the pain. She says Trust me, I remember the first child, the second child, I know what that pain was, I've not forgotten it. But it doesn't mean that I didn't you know, thank Allah for blessing me with the child and whatever. It's a challenge. Pregnancy itself. What is it? May Allah grant children to those who don't have children say I mean, and those who do May Allah make them the coolness of your eyes.

We're navigating through trying times, choppy waters, the world now full of spiritual floods, where our hearts are being swept away in the wrong direction. But keep praying, keep trying, keep talking to your children and keep asking them to be responsible. Because we are living through trying times. So that's why I paused for a moment to say May Allah grant us the goodness, there was a sister who walked in here today and told me that I've learned one thing from you. Every time I just dish a prayer I just say a prayer. May Allah grant goodness Allah bless you. May Allah grant us happiness, I promise you that helps me and I'm sure it will help you. So imagine when Allah blesses you with

something good after a difficulty, he helps you to forget that difficulty because something came after it. You forget you had an issue so much so that we have another major disaster, what is it?

Sometimes our problems and rightly so bring us closer to Allah that was a blessing. And what do we do when we realize no one can help me? We start crying to Allah. Whether it's a sickness, may Allah grant us all cure May Allah cure those who have sicknesses and illness, I mean,

whether it is some challenge the jobs may Allah grant jobs to those who are looking for them and jobs that will be suitable and bring in an income with baraka and blessings. I mean,

and then what happens?

You call out to Allah, Oh, Allah grant me you start reading fragile before you didn't use to what made you get up for fragile, a difficulty that came in your life that was a blessing. And then you read your book for acid, Margaret Risha, and you got up for a prayer known as the head dude, which is the early hours of the morning when everyone's asleep and you busy crying, crying, you know,

you're busy ripping this agenda as they say, mashallah, is that not a blessing? That's such a beautiful condition.

You have suffered, you have developed a connection with your make, the mistake we make is as soon as the almighty decides to grant us what we've been asking for,

in a lot of cases, what happens to mankind? Let's be honest, I had a big problem. You know what the head had worked?

It worked. Oh, it worked. That means the problem was solved, solved. Do you still return to it? Not really. Oh, it's supposed to have been the other way around. So Allah says, I love you so much. You were so softened, let me put in some other curveball. And you might just come back to that Sadad you used to cry beautiful tears. You are a person who was much more conscious of who you are and where you're heading, you forgotten that you only have 14 days to live.

It's a little bit too little, let's make it 14 years.

Whatever it is, it's a fixed time. It's the almighty who's decided right? My brothers and sisters, it will keep happening. You will have an issue you will pray you will get close to Allah and it will be alleviated. Something else will happen and you will smile again. There will come a time when you won't even believe you had challenges many of us financially we complain and we rightly so in the sense that we complain to Allah, Oh Allah, I'm going through a few struggles. I need money for rent and for food and for so and so. But the standard of living is way above what our own standard was 30 years ago. Do you not agree?

But the complaints are more. Where were you 40 years ago? Talk about it. Those who are in their 50s or 60s Where were you 30 years ago?

Where were you 20 years ago?

Has Allah not blessed us? Do we not have a bit more, but you know what our standard of living has perhaps. And not only that, let me be honest as well to say that the price

and the index,

and inflation, and everything is also to blame. But still, generally, I think we're in a better position. In many cases,

technologically, we are more advanced so much more.

So we tend to sometimes forget what we were asking Allah for in the Quran says this, that man is such that when we,

when he faces difficulty and hardship, he calls out to us crying, standing, sitting, lying down, he's calling out to us. And when we alleviate and solve the problem, he continues on Earth, as though there was never a time when he was even connected to us.

And Allah says, ultimately, you've got to come back to Allah.

So imagine you were praying, and then you stopped praying, because now you no longer have a problem. And then you were doing the right thing. And now you're no longer doing the right thing because you no longer have a problem.

Worse than that, sometimes. And this is what we asked the almighty to protect us from. If your hardship drifts you away from the Almighty, it's actually it could be the beginning of some punishment.

When you have hardship,

don't pick a war with Allah. He is your Lord. He knows people better than you have been through bigger problems than yours and they've sailed through it. The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him the best of all, the highest should I say,

Jesus may peace be upon him one of the top five,

no, Noah May peace be upon him. One of the top five, Abraham Ibrahim May peace be upon him one of the top five

Subhanallah

Moses Musa alayhis salam, one of the top five I've mentioned all the five now right, Mashallah.

They all went through challenge upon challenge go and read about the Pharaoh go and read about the Romans and how they treated Jesus made peace be upon him go and read about curation, what they did to Muhammad, peace be upon him go and read about the parents of Ibrahim his father and his community and what they did to him, we have faced nothing as compared to them. They were loved by Allah. So if Allah does it, to whom he loves, he says it clearly to us, when I love you, I'll test you. And when you when you when there is a greater reward for you, the test is a bit bigger, just like the school it's a good example, if you think of it, you want a bigger certificate? Well, you got to be asked

some difficult questions, you're going to have to go and do some research, you're going to have to write a thesis is going to take you a few years, you're going to sweat, you're going to spend money and energy and effort and whatever. But after that, you're going to have a title perhaps and you might be able to get a better job and a better salary for a little while. The similar rule applies when you have done that and sacrificed your time, your money, your energy, your effort, in order to please Allah, Allah gives you a certificate, you have a title next to your name and you enter into the hereafter, and you will get not just a job or, or a salary, you get everything you wish for and

you want.

That's what it is. But it's an effort.

Another sister walks in and tells me

I've lost my folks, some of my folks may Allah grant him Jana.

May Allah grant him Jana, it's very difficult without a job.

Nobody can explain to the other the feeling when you've lost your own child.

Because everyone goes through it differently.

And it's normal to cry because crying is a coping mechanism provided by Allah. It's normal and natural, and it's okay to cry. But don't question the decree of Allah. He knows what is better for you, your future for them their future. Ultimately, we all have to go. If someone told you you can live for 120 years, I promise you if you were healthy, and okay at 120, you will say give me a little bit more but hang on, I gave you more than everybody else. They all went at 60 7080 Yesterday I asked the question, how long would you like to live? Someone said 63. I think they thought that might be virtuous because the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him passed on at 63. But that's there's

not there's no virtue to die at a particular age, you die when Allah knows it's better for you to go.

Whether you die at 16 or 26, or 120, if it's better for you at that age Alhamdulillah. But you yourself will become fed up of life if you were to live up to 120 based on how humankind of today is living in terms of quality. What's the point of living to 120 when I can't move when I rely to people to take me to the bathroom? When I rely upon people to take me to

meaning to wash myself to eat to drink. What's the point of being alive? You become a burden those around you are saying, Oh Allah have mercy on my father, their mercy and your mercy are two different things. What is meant by their mercy? Take him away? Come on, it's over now.

Even if they don't admit it, because you know what, you're a burden.

And you're busy saying, Wow, look at my son, making two alpha My Mercy, what a beautiful time. Then you got to admit to say, You know what, death is also the Mercy of Allah. When someone passes away, what do we say? He has gone into the Mercy of Allah? Don't we say that that's what I meant. May Allah grant us ease. So make a dua Oh, Allah take me when you know, it's right for me to go. And sometimes there are people we talked to who are perhaps towards the end of their lives. Perhaps why I say perhaps is we don't know sometimes medicine might tell you, you're living for six days, and you live for six years.

And sometimes medicine tells you this is a small thing, and you don't get up and that's it and you're gone. So we don't know. But when we're addressing people we think perhaps they they have an issue and so on. What do we do? We give them hope in the Mercy of Allah, you're going to a Lord, who is merciful, kind, generous, forgiving, and he is beneficent. He is the most forgiving.

Don't be depressed. If you think you faulted we all have you think you've sinned, we all have, we did not sin because we defy the maker or deny His grandeur. we sinned because we as humans were weak. It was a human weakness. And that made us falter. Immediately. We said, Oh, Allah, forgive me. I'm a human. I made a mistake. I was wrong. I won't do it again, strengthen me and grant me forgiveness from you. You know, you made me and I'm trying to worship you make me strong.

Do you think that statement will be rejected by Allah? No, it won't.

So when you're about to go have hope it's okay. I'm going to a better place. This is why I say the quality even of the moments of death are far better than those who don't believe at all.

Your moment of death, you're a believer. How do you die? You die with a smile, hoping looking forward to goodness to forgiveness? I imagine if I'm impressed and intrigued by things that my maker has made. how impressed Do you think I'm going to be when I see the maker himself?

Come on. SubhanAllah. You know, youngsters? Well let me not say youngsters, even the older people. You look at someone Wow. Wow. MashAllah gorgeous, man. Wait until you see the maker who made all these gorgeous things. Allah, wait until you see it's amazing. Allah. That's why Allah says the biggest gift of the believers.

When they meet Allah,

may Allah grant us goodness, Allah grant us goodness, my brothers and sisters life is filled with difficulty and hardship. You've lost a loved one. The best gift you could ever do for them is a simple prayer. Oh ALLAH forgive them and grant them Jana Allahumma hum whom work for Allah whom was a king whom, Phil Jana.

Oh Allah,

have mercy on them, forgive them and grant them paradise, you can repeat that dua again, and again and again. And again, a million times, and today and tomorrow and the following day, it reaches them, it will benefit them, it will help them and they will definitely, definitely be proud of what you're doing.

If they have had

deaths, debts, you might want to try and pay them up. It may not be your duty, because

if I have a debt from my money before it is split to the heirs, they need to take out and pay my debts. But if I don't have the money,

then what happens? It's a loss. These people can either forgive me or not. And if someone wants to pay it on my behalf Alhamdulillah it would help. I'd rather solve the matter in the world and later on. So if my children are wealthy, and they decide to pay off the debt, it's a goodness, but I cannot come to them and say your father owed me money pay up. That was my father, not me. We are two different people.

If you want it from the estate, you can go and claim he left nothing. Oh, it's depleted. May Allah grant us ease. Remember, my brothers and sisters, I want to pause for a moment and divert a little bit to say, did you know that in Islam, you're not supposed to be

borrowing.

Without necessity, if you really need you can but if you don't really need don't, because there was a time when the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, used to come up to pray for the deceased, the person who's passed away, you would get up and it's an honor because if the prophet Muhammad prays for you mashallah, it's a different level altogether.

He would stand there and say, I lay down

is the does this man owe anyone any money?

If they said yes, he would walk away and said, You guys pray, I'm moving.

Heavy, right? Very heavy. Imagine even if the Imam of our musket to do that, we would probably make a tantrum. I'd probably get up from my coffin and say, Come back, come back and pick it up and close it again. Oh, Allah grant us ease. May Allah never let that happen to us. Obviously, that's, I'm just trying to explain how serious the matter is.

And later on, he used to pay the debt. Or there were many occasions where one of the Companions would say, oh messenger, I will pay the debt of his then he would come back and say, Okay, let's pray.

The only reason is to show you how serious it is. It's a serious matter don't

borrow for nothing.

Don't borrow for nothing. Don't worry. The wedding can be a bit small. I'm not going to get a loan just because I need to show the Joneses that you know what I'm Joneses with a double S at the end you guys only one so don't worry we can show we will actually bring the Rolls Royce right into the hole forget about you guys outside. Masha Allah may Allah grant us ease. I'm just giving an example. I know we're at a wedding venue. We have beautiful roses I'm looking at joyful walking through I said this looks a bit odd supposed to have a bride with me bro.

May Allah grant us ease Allah grant us ease. May Allah grant us ease. My brothers and sisters. We pray for the deceased. May Allah make it easy for all those who are going through struggles today as I'm speaking to you, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and many other places struggling because of disaster that we term natural.

We ask Allah's forgiveness and we ask Allah to alleviate and to use us to help them you know the floods that are so serious, they say they haven't seen that type of rain in centuries, not not decades, and centuries.

And surely we feel for them. Not just one country everywhere. There might be hardships others are going through that we don't even know about. What are you going to do about it? One pound is good enough to start with. More importantly, a heart that feels the pain of the suffering of others is the heart of a believer.

You saw a cat suffering.

I actually saw a video of a group of men who went down the staircase and picked up

a cat and put pushed it up. And I thought that was a an act not just a bravery because human beings risked their lives to save the life of a cat. I don't know if some of you saw that clip.

It was yesterday. Yes. Mashallah. For the use of he says he saw it on your name is use of right? Mashallah.

So, it's amazing how

true believers would feel even for a dog I saw another one where a dog was being swept down the river and the man takes a rope and he goes and pull the the dog out of it yesterday, in Pakistan.

These are moments of earning paradise. These are moments of earning paradise.

They are all struggling. That man is struggling, his family is struggling, his family members are struggling, but there's an opportunity in front of his face to save a dog he'd saved the dog. What's that? A beauty of a humankind that what Allah has given you that feeling. It's part of the gift of Allah Almighty.

So

remember, when you help others in their struggles, Allah will help you in yours.

When you reach out to others, Allah will alleviate your struggles. Allah may not let you taste a day of hardship, because throughout your life, you just gave charity all the time. And you looked at it that's why the Hadith says charity extinguishes the bad destiny that may be coming in your direction. If something will help you in your destiny, you know, we say predestiny and destiny. It is two things do ah. That means supplication call out to Allah dua can actually maneuver and move and change to a certain extent part of your destiny. Do you know that?

Although in the knowledge of Allah he knew you were going to make the DUA but it can move it. What else can move it? Your charity?

Charity can move it a sadaqa to Ebola. What a hottie charity extinguishes Bella Bella means hardship calamity.

calamity coming in. You would say for example, a calamity was rootin for you at 504 and 35 seconds,

tomorrow evening.

And because of a charity you just tripped and hurt your baby to Hollis. And you said in Allah who were in LA Hara John the calamity came, everything happened, but it was light. It was very light. So please don't use the SH word. As soon as that happens, just say Alhamdulillah if only you knew what was meant to happen and now what happened? You would think Oh Allah, my baby toe squashed and squeezed, gone red swollen, pacified, Alhamdulillah it's better than having lost my entire leg.

right or not? But man doesn't look at it that way. What made you look at it that way your faith, who taught you this Nabi Muhammad Sallallahu sallam, he says, the ones who can praise and thank Allah upon all conditions are the ones who will be the VIPs on the Day of Judgment generation says when everyone is gathered on the day of judgment call, I will call to say where are those who used to thank Allah or who used to praise Allah upon all conditions come forth, and they will be called forth first. Meaning there will be certain groups that will all come first they are one of them.

are in a Lavina? Can we Medina Allah Hafiz sala de Raji.

We are those who used to praise Allah all praises due to Allah whether good happened or bad, but they used to praise Allah. They are the VIPs May Allah grant us all goodness.

So the sister asked me what, what can my mother do as a widow?

For my father, well, similar you make dua

and it's the simplest thing and you can repeat it every day. Don't let shaytan make you think that I'm doing nothing that just to ask Allah to believe that Allah will do this for you. That conviction alone is a great act of worship. Because you believe in Allah, I am helpless. How am I going to help those in the grave? I can't except through what Allah taught me. Because I'm a helpless human being I've got nothing to help them I cannot put down an air conditioned to say you know what? This summer is very hot. Let me make sure my dad's okay. You dig down there to put air conditioned he won't even be there. Where did he go? Sure. He must be gone visiting. He used to do that even when he was

alive. Not at all. Not at all. My brothers and sisters it's Allah you call out to Allah.

I have bad news for you. My time is up.

Let's make a DUA, masha Allah.

May Allah bless all of you grant your goodness and ease May Allah alleviate your struggles, your sufferings, like I said, Allah knows you personally. May Allah Almighty help you and myself and all of us because we all go through hardship and issues. Don't let your difficulty and your hardship sway your faith and conviction in the Almighty in fact, if anything, it should bring us closer. Oh Allah bring us closer to you in every way. Akula Kohli ha ha SallAllahu wasallam Allah Baraka ala Nabina Muhammad